Tommy Gun ?'s

[kimbershot]

hi gang,

looking at an auto ordnance tommy gun semi. are they any good?? need opinions on the aluminum vs. steel receivers. don't want forgrip model. leaning towards the commando unit-steel. i would love to hear from owners. i do a lot of reloading for my 1911's--with cast bullets--any feeding issues or problems? this would be a plinker for me.

 

[Justin]

They're neat guns, and like SAA revolvers or falling-block rifles, buying one is more about having something historical and tremendously fun than effective and modular.

I've not heard any great complaints about the Auto-Ordnance Tommys, though I suspect they maybe a touch finicky here and there.

One nice thing about them, though, is that I'm told AO includes a voucher for a free shortened barrel with each gun, so if you file the paperwork to convert it to an SBR, all you have to do is send them proof of your tax stamp, along with the voucher, and they send a new, shorter barrel out to you.

 

[TonyAngel]

kimbershot, if I recall right, Kahr bought Auto Ordnance some time back. 1999 or 2000 or so. In my experience Kahr has been pretty good about providing what the public wants and maintaining quality control. I'm just saying this based on owning a few of their little 9mm's.

In any case, do some research on the steel vs. aluminum thing. I do know that the .45 ACP is a relatively low pressure round and steel is a lot heavier than aluminum. If you can get away with aluminum with no practical downside, that's the way I'd go.

The only comment that I can make about shooting them is that the last one that I shot was all steel and pretty heavy. For that particular example, it was 230gr ball only. It choked on my 200gr SWC handloads. I wish I had some 230 cast ball to try in it.

It was pretty fun to shoot, but I'm a small guy and found it to be uncomfortably bulky. If you haven't held one before, I'd suggest that you get your hands on one before spending the money.

 

[tahunua001]

I was also researching the thompson clones a while back. I canned the idea. the biggest thing for me was the fact that AO is owned by kahr. I know I'm going to get flamed for saying that but my family's had rough history with kahr and so rather than deal with headache I've just decided to boycott them, the same reason I now have zero interest in desert eagles.

the second thing that did it for me was the price that you pay for a neutered version of the original. it has a 16" barrel, semi auto action and from some account the wood, though nice looking has tendencies of splitting and cracking. it just looks goofy compared to an original.

the last thing that turned me off to the idea was the shear weight of the weapon. the aluminum I think is a full pound lighter than the steel but it's been a while since I did my research.

if I could find one with the historically accurate barrel length that I knew was 100% reliable with a solid set of wood I might consider getting it with the NFA paperwork but otherwise it's just another 45 carbine that kind of resembles a tommy.

 

[Zach S]

I've seen (and owned) two steel AO tommyguns, still own one. Other than the nice looking wood, the Kahrs I've seen seemed like a step down in fit and finish.

Mine ate anything that I loaded in the magazine, other than AL blazer. No problems with SWC, several different JHPs, and of course, 230 grain ball. Other than the SWC (which I didn't load), all ammo was factory.

Surplus magazines need the mag catch hole filed higher to work in the semi-auto guns. As stated, it weighs a ton. The sights kinda suck. Despite the weight, the high bore axis results in a bit of muzzleclimb. That said, I really shooting enjoy the one I still have.

Edit: Kahr Thompsons are still stamped Auto Ordnance. There are two easy ways to tell them apart the AOs are stamped West Hurley, NY, and the Kahrs are stamped Worcester, MA. The AOs have really nice bluing and okay wood, and Karhs look cold blued with really pretty wood...